What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Walt Disney Animated Classics/All Dogs Go to Heaven
All Dogs Go to Heaven is a 1989 American animated musical comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Produced by Walt Disney, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Don Bluth, the film tells the story of Charlie B. Barkin (voiced by Burt Reynolds), a German Shepherd that is murdered by his former friend, Carface (voiced by Vic Tayback, in his final film role), but withdraws from his place in Heaven to return to Earth, where his best friend, Itchy Itchiford (voiced by Dom DeLuise) still lives, and he teams up with a young orphan girl named Anne-Marie (voiced by Judith Barsi, in her final film role), who teaches them an important lesson about kindness, friendship and love. All Dogs Go to Heaven was the second film released during the Disney Renaissance (1989–1999) era, which had begun the same year with The Little Mermaid, released on the same day. While the film gained overall favorable reviews and a solid box office performance, it did not match the same success like The Little Mermaid, but it was successful on home video, becoming one of the biggest-selling VHS releases ever. A sequel, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, was released in 1996. Today, while the film is very iconic, it is seen as a modest success by the Disney company. Plot In 1939, Charlie Barkin and his assistant Itchy Itchiford are breaking out of a heavily secured dog pound, but in the process bust a water main and are discovered. The two barely escape while being shot at. Later, they make a grand entrance at a casino riverboat on the bayou, formerly run by Charlie and now run by his former business partner, Carface Caruthers who, unwilling to share the earnings, had been responsible for Charlie and Itchy getting committed at the pound. With everyone surprised at their arrival, Charlie and Itchy sing "You Can't Keep a Good Dog Down" for their confidence. After the song, Itchy is separated from Charlie via a slide trapdoor. Unaware of Carface's malicious intent, Charlie returns to him expecting open arms, but Carface wants to sever ties with him, claiming that authorities searching for Charlie will discover the operation. To get Charlie out of the picture for good, Carface and his partner Killer arrange his death. Itchy discovers this plot and attempts to warn Charlie. Carface takes Charlie to Mardi Gras to celebrate Charlie going into his own business. At the party, he gives Charlie a "lucky" gold watch. The drunk Charlie is then taken to the docks, while Itchy searches for him. Carface starts a car at the end of the docks, which then rolls down and run over at Charlie. Having long, Charlie goes to Heaven by default, despite never actually doing any good deeds in his life; meeting God who explains that "Unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind". However, Charlie is upset and dissatisfied, having to die before his time, and convinces God to let him to return Earth, which God gives back a "life watch", which Charlie winds it back up, allowing him to return to Earth and back to life, but is told that if he dies again, he will not return to Heaven. On Earth, Charlie visits Itchy at his home. Itchy is scared, believing Charlie is a ghost, but Charlie convinces him otherwise. The two then go searching for the secret to Carface's success. They crawl through the vents and discover that Carface has kidnapped a young orphaned girl named Anne-Marie, who has the ability to talk to animals and gain knowledge of a race's results beforehand, allowing Carface to rig the odds on the rat races in his favor. They rescue her, intending to use her abilities to get revenge on Carface, taking her back to Itchy's house. Upon discovering this, and outraged Carface commands Killer to find her. The next day, the trio heads to the horse track. With some difficulty, Charlie convinces Anne-Marie to talk to one of the horses, saying that any money they earn will go to the poor. One of the horses says that it is The Grand Chawhee's birthday, and that he will win. The group is then seen outside, looking for a way to get money to bet with. They find a couple, and Charlie tells Itchy to do "the number three." Itchy is then seen acting as though he is injured, in order to distract the couple while Charlie takes the man's wallet. After obtaining the wallet, the three leave to make the bet. In the next scene, the three are seen stacked up under a pink overcoat. They make their bet and go to their seats. When the race starts, Chawhee is seen exiting his starting pen backward. However, the other horses allow him to win. Charlie, Itchy, and Anne-Marie collect their earnings and are seen winning bets on numerous other races. However, Anne-Marie is unhappy, and the trio goes out and buys her pretty new clothes. Itchy then builds a casino, which the two run successfully. Charlie then spots Anne-Marie attempting to leave, unhappy because none of the money has gone to helping the poor, or to finding Anne-Marie new parents, both of which were promised by Charlie. In order to stop her, Charlie decides to go "help the poor". Meanwhile, Carface is about to lower Killer into a pit of pirahnnas, after realizing Charlie is still alive and he have Anne-Marie. While he is being lowered, he asks Carface to spare him, saying he has a gun. Carface pulls him up and asks what type of gun it is, to which Killer replies "a Flash-Gordon Thermo-Atomic Ray Gun." Carface appears to be pleased before the scene cuts to Charlie and Anne-Marie bringing pizza to a family of poor puppies and their mother, Flo, at the old abandoned church. While there, Anne-Marie becomes upset at Charlie for stealing the wallet. She goes to the attic and wishes to live with the couple in the future. After a nightmare in which he is sent to Hell for eternity, Charlie wakes up in the room, only to find Anne-Marie gone. The couple welcome Anne-Marie into their home, serving waffles. They also forgive Charlie for taking their wallet. Anne Marie tells the couple that she lives with Charlie, and that she has no parents. The couple exits the room to talk about her. While they are talking, Charlie shows up and convinces Anne-Marie to leave with him. The two then pass through the market on their way home. Carface and Killer are also there with the ray gun. The two shoot Charlie several times, but he survives, due to as long as he’s wearing the life watch, he’s immortal. As he and Anne-Marie run away, a confused Killer starts to fire in random directions while the dog he and Carface are riding runs off. Charlie and Anne-Marie are then seen hiding in an abandoned building. The two fall through the floor, and Charlie loses his watch. In the flooded area beneath, he tries to find it. He sees it, but it starts floating away. Charlie and Anne-Marie are then picked up and moved in the same direction by an unseen force. They are then seen in cages being carried by rats. Charlie asks Anne-Marie to talk to them, but she cannot understand them. Charlie attempts to grab his watch, but loses it again when he is dropped onto an island with Anne Marie. A moving object in the water circles the island before coming ashore, revealing it to be a giant alligator named King Gator. The alligator places Charlie in its mouth, despite Anne-Marie’s plea to not eat Charlie, and he howls. King Gator decides not to eat Charlie because to him, it sounds like Charlie, ande singing, during which Charlie recovers the watch, the less water sickening Anne-Marie. Charlie picks up Anne-Marie, who has caught pneumonia, and the two ride King Gator back into New Orleans. Back at Charlie's Casino, Itchy is closing up, while Carface sneaks up on him and asks where Anne-Marie is. Itchy does not know, and Carface attacks him. At the church, Charlie is talking to Flo about Anne-Marie when Itchy limps in, presumably beaten up by Carface’s thugs. He tells Charlie what happened, and shows him the burning casino, suggesting the two leave Anne-Marie behind and go someplace else. Charlie tells him that they need to start over, and need her more than ever. Itchy tells Charlie that he knows he is caring about Anne-Marie. Charlie, trying to hide these feelings, lies that he doesn't care about her, that he is just using her, and when they are done with her, they'll put her in an orphanage. Unbeknownst to them, Itchy notices Anne-Marie, who was overhearing their conversation. Feeling heartbroken and betrayed, she tells Charlie that he is a bad dog, and runs away, crying. Charlie runs after her, and stops at the entrance, where she has left her stuffed rabbit. He hears her scream, knowing that Carface has captured her, and runs after her. Itchy reaches the entrance, and Flo tells him to take the stuffed rabbit to 402 Maple Street. Itchy goes into town and asks other dogs where it is. These dogs tell him and spread the word to others. Itchy and many other dogs reach the house and give the stuffed rabbit to the couple, alerting them that Anne-Marie is in danger. Charlie reaches Carface's casino and attempts to rescue Anne-Marie, but Carface is expecting him and has his thugs attack. Charlie is captured and tied to an anchor. While this is happening, a dog bites Charlie's foot, and he howls, summoning King Gator (who he and Anne-Marie met earlier). When Charlie is lowered, King Gator sets him free. While this is happening, Itchy is bringing a large group of dogs to the site. The alligator's attacks knock Anne-Marie's cage into the water and Charlie sets aside his watch to save her, but Carface attacks, knocking the watch away to land on a floating piece of debris. King Gator strikes again, knocking Carface and his thugs into the water to be chased away by King Gator, and Charlie dives in to save Anne-Marie, who falls into the water. Charlie grabs her and pulls her up, but his watch falls in. Charlie puts Anne-Marie on a piece of debris and pushes her outside, and dives in to get the watch. The watch, now at the bottom, floods and stops before Charlie reaches his watch. Charlie drops his watch into the water, however, he pushes Anne-Marie to safety onto some debris, and dives into the water to retrieve it, but it stops before he can get to it. Anne-Marie and a redeemed Killer are discovered by Itchy, Flo, the couple, and the authorities, as the boat sinks into the water. Sometime later, the couple adopt Anne-Marie, who recovered from her disease and has also adopted Itchy. Charlie returns in ghost form to apologize to Anne-Marie. God appears and tells him that because he sacrificed his life for Anne-Marie, Charlie has earned his place in Heaven. Anne-Marie awakens, and they reconcile. Charlie asks her to take care of Itchy, and bids his sleeping friend goodbye. When Anne-Marie goes to sleep again, Charlie leaves and returns to Heaven. Voice cast *Burt Reynolds as Charlie B. Barkin *Dom DeLuise as Itchy Itchiford *Judith Barsi (singing voice by Lana Beeson) as Anne-Marie *Vic Tayback as Carface Caruthers *Charles Nelson Reilly as Killer *Loni Anderson as Flo *Mel Blanc as God *Ken Page as the Alligator *Rob Fuller and Earleen Carey as Mr. and Mrs. Warlop Production The earliest idea for the film was conceived by Don Bluth after finishing work on The Secret of NIMH. The treatment was originally about a canine private eye, and one of three short stories making up an anthology film. However, because of Walt Disney was preparing some of the studio's new films, the idea never made it beyond rough storyboards. The concept was revived by Bluth, John Pomeroy, and Gary Goldman, and rewritten by David N. Weiss, collaborating with the producers from October through December 1987. They pitched the idea to Walt with the title All Dogs Go to Heaven, which they drewed inspiration from films, such as It's a Wonderful Life, Little Miss Marker, and A Guy Named Joe, which Walt liked the project and approved it for production. The film's title came from a book read to Bluth's fourth-grade class, and he resisted suggestions to change it, stating he liked how "provocative" it sounded, and how people reacted to the title alone. The film's lead voices, Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise, had previously appeared together in five films. For this one, they requested them to record their parts in the studio together (in American animation, actors more commonly record their parts solo). Disney agreed and allowed Reynolds and DeLuise to ad-lib extensively; Walt later commented, "their ad-libs were often better than the original script". However, Reynolds was more complimentary of the draft, warmly quipping, "Great script, kid", as he left the studio. Another pair of voices, those of Carface and Killer (Vic Tayback and Charles Nelson Reilly, respectively), also recorded together. Loni Anderson, who voices Flo, was Reynolds' then-wife. Child actress Judith Barsi, who voiced the titular character in Little Orphan Annie and Ducky in The Land Before Time, was selected to voice Anne-Marie; she was killed by her father József Barsi over a year before All Dogs Go to Heaven was released. The end credits song "Love Survives" was dedicated in her memory, as well as Mel Blanc's. All Dogs Go to Heaven is, along with The Little Mermaid, the last Disney feature film to use the traditional hand-painted cel method of animation. Disney's next film, The Prince and the Pauper, used a digital method of coloring and combining scanned drawings—CAPS (Computer Animation Production System), which eliminated the need for cels. As production neared completion, the studio held test screenings and decided that some of the scenes were too intense for younger viewers. Walt decided to shorten Charlie's nightmare about being condemned. Don Bluth owned a private 35-mm print of the movie with the cut-out scenes and planned to convince Walt on releasing a director's cut of the film for the film's home video release on Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection, but the print was eventually stolen from Bluth's locked storage room, diminishing hopes of this version being released on home media. Soundtrack The music for All Dogs Go to Heaven was composed by Ralph Burns with lyrics by Charles Strouse, T.J. Kuenster, Joel Hirschhorn, and Al Kasha. An official soundtrack was released on July 1, 1989, by Curb Records on audio cassette and CD featuring 13 tracks, including seven vocal songs performed by various cast members. The end credits theme "Love Survives" was dedicated to Anne-Marie's voice actress Judith Barsi and Disney veteran voice actor Mel Blanc, who died before the film's release. Track listing # "Love Survives" - Irene Cara and Freddie Jackson - Length: 3:25 # "Mardi Gras" - Music Score - Length: 1:17 # "You Can't Keep a Good Dog Down" - Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise - Length: 2:30 # "Hellhound" - Music Score - Length: 2:09 # "What's Mine Is Yours" - Burt Reynolds - Length: 1:48 # "At the Race Track" - Music Score - Length: 1:49 # "Let Me Be Surprised" - Melba Moore and Burt Reynolds - Length: 4:54 # "Soon You'll Come Home" (Anne-Marie's Theme) - Lana Beeson - Length: 2:38 # "Money Montage" - Music Score - Length: 3:43 # "Dogs to the Rescue" - Music Score - Length: 3:10 # "Let's Make Music Together" - Ken Page and Burt Reynolds - Length: 2:24 # "Goodbye Anne-Marie" - Music Score - Length: 2:10 # "Hallelujah" - Candy Devine - 1:21 Reception Critical response Box office Awards and honors Home media releases Sequel and spin-off series Trivia